Monday, May 18, 2009

BiNA Osteria: Pasta Supreme

Azita Bina-Seibel and her brother, Babak Bina, already own two very successful restaurnts, Lala Rokh and Bin 26 Enoteca. They have tried for a triple play, opening a new high-end Italian restaurant on Washington Street in Boston. I believe this will be another successful endeavor for them.

The new restaurant, BiNA Osteria, is situated next to their new Italian market, BiNA Alimentari, which I previously gave a positive review. I had the opportunity to stop by the restaurant for a bite before a function I was attending. Based on my visit, I will definitely be returning to try more of their food.

The look of the restaurant is very modern, and even a bit minimalistic. It has a long bar and comfortable lounge area. They have a full bar and I tried one of their cocktails, the Caprese ($10), which contains Pepper Vodka, Tomato Water, Balsamic, and Basil. This was quite a unique drink, definitely reminiscent of a caprese salad. A very savory rather than sweet drink and I think it actually pairs better with food than would a sweet cocktail.

Their wine list by the glass ($7-$12) only has about a dozen or so choices, but they are interesting ones, most of the choices are from Italy though there are also some from France , Germany and Austria. I did have a delicous and fruit Chennin Blanc ($9) from the Anjou Blanc AOC, the 2007 ‘Sous La Tonelle’ by Domaine de la Bergerie.

Prior to the arrival of my food, I received some fresh sliced bread with "pig butter" which is actually lard. It comes with salt and herbs that you can mix with the lard top your bread. Sure people would likely not eat it if they called it "lard" but it is decadently tasty. It does seem to almost have a creamy, pork-like taste and I loved it atop my bread. I even got seconds because it was so good. Don't think about what it is and just enjoy.

For dinner, I opted for two small portions of two different pasta dishes. I began with the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara ($15) which is made with house made pancetta, a slow cooked hen egg, and pecorino. You break the yolk over the pasta and then stir it up. The pasta was cooked just right and the dish was quite flavorful with smoky bits of pancetta. It is small enough to be an appetizer though it has a certain richness to it that can be filling. The Potato Gnocchi ($17) came with lobster, calamari, chorizo, and Meyer lemon confit. The pillowy gnocchi were soft and light, complemented well by the tender seafood. The chorizo were thin, crisp circles adding spice and smoke to the dish. Another excellent choice.

So my initial impressions are very positive. I certainly will be returning here to try more dishes, maybe even the chef's tasting menu. Plus I want another Caprese cocktail.

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